An inspiring eight Millfieldians competed at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and won a total of four medals during the competition.

Old Millfieldian swimmer James Guy, who still trains at Millfield, won two silver medals in the 4 x 200m freestyle and 4 x 100m medley relays. He also performed well in his individual races, narrowly missing out on bronze in the 200m freestyle. James’ coach and Director of Swimming at Millfield, Jol Finck, was also at Rio as part of Team GB coaching team and was the coach in charge of the 4 x 200m freestyle relay.

Class of 2016 leaver Cameron Kurle, 19, joined James Guy in the pool, competing in the 200m freestyle event and was also a reserve for the 4 x 200m relay team.

Old Millfieldian rower Helen Glover and teammate Heather Stanning repeated their success from London 2012, taking the gold medal in the women’s pair event.

Ollie Lindsay-Hague became the first Old Millfieldian to compete in Rugby 7s at the Olympics, and took home a silver medal alongside the rest of the Team GB squad.

Nikki Hamblin, representing New Zealand, competed in the women’s 1500m and 5000m. Following an unexpected fall in her 5000m heat, Nikki hit the headlines after she displayed great sportsmanship with a fellow runner. The Olympic movement awarded her the Spirit of Endeavour Award in recognition of this. She is only the 17th person to have received this rare award in the history of the Olympic Games. Nikki progressed to the Olympic final, where she finished 17th.

Modern Pentathlete Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe represented Ireland and finished 8th in the competition. Millfield’s Director of Modern Pentathlon and Fencing, and personal coach to Arthur, Tristan Parris joined him in Rio as part of the Pentathlon Ireland coaching team.
Jazmin Sawyers, current British long jump champion, competed in her first Olympic Games. After successfully progressing through to the final, she finished the competition in 8th place.

Simon Mantell travelled to Rio as a reserve for the Team GB Men’s Hockey team. Following an injury to one of his teammates, Simon played against New Zealand, Australia and Spain in the group stages but ultimately didn’t progress to the quarter-finals.
Congratulations to all who took part in such a wonderful sporting occasion.